Linscomb Wealth Inc. Sells 330 Shares of American Express (NYSE:AXP)

Linscomb Wealth Inc. trimmed its position in American Express (NYSE:AXP) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,510 shares of the payment services company’s stock after selling 330 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in American Express were worth $799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AXP. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in American Express by 1.0% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 4,315 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. CIC Wealth LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.2% in the first quarter. CIC Wealth LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank increased its position in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. HTLF Bank now owns 6,202 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,412,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Aspiriant LLC increased its position in American Express by 0.8% in the first quarter. Aspiriant LLC now owns 6,330 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in American Express by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,490 shares of the payment services company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. 84.33% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at American Express

In other American Express news, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other American Express news, insider Jennifer Skyler sold 14,802 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $241.73, for a total value of $3,578,087.46. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,957,361.83. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Douglas E. Buckminster sold 117,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $232.44, for a total value of $27,267,303.96. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 110,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,642,315.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 138,844 shares of company stock worth $32,404,735 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of American Express from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $232.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of American Express from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $230.70.

American Express Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of AXP traded up $5.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $245.89. 2,174,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,695,599. American Express has a 1-year low of $140.91 and a 1-year high of $253.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.62, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $174.81 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.21. The business has a 50 day moving average of $236.19 and a 200 day moving average of $223.92.

American Express (NYSE:AXP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 19th. The payment services company reported $3.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.26 by $0.23. American Express had a net margin of 15.53% and a return on equity of 32.94%. The firm had revenue of $16.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that American Express will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

American Express Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 9th. Investors of record on Friday, July 5th will be given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 5th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. This is a positive change from American Express’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. American Express’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.06%.

American Express Profile

American Express Company, together with its subsidiaries, operates as integrated payments company in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, the Asia Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, Canada, the Caribbean, and Internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Consumer Services, Commercial Services, International Card Services, and Global Merchant and Network Services.